


I did, I did, I do

by liarlagoon



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:34:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23669227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liarlagoon/pseuds/liarlagoon
Summary: Din wonders, sometimes, if the way he loves is enough.
Relationships: Corin the Stormtrooper (Rescue and Regret)/The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)
Comments: 27
Kudos: 172





	I did, I did, I do

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LadyIrina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyIrina/gifts).



> Inspired by a quote prompt from [treetart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Treetart/pseuds/Treetart) in the [mandorin oranges discord server](https://discord.gg/dxFYx7E). 
> 
> Quote: I burned so long so quiet you must have wondered if I loved you back. I did, I did, I do. - Annelyse Gelman

Corin loves loudly. He has spent so much of his life unable to express affection, and now that he is free to do as he pleases, he can hardly bring himself to stop. It comes across in every touch, hands drifting softly over Din’s arm as he passes, lips pressed to his helmet or neck as he maneuvers them in tight spaces, fingers gently pulling out the tangles in his hair as they lay in bed together at night. Endearments fall constantly from his lips,  _ excuse me, sweetheart, _ and  _ coming through, my love,  _ and  _ careful, ner kar’ta _ . 

Din loves quietly. His hands are rough and he has known so much violence that sometimes he wonders if he has any softness left to share with his family, but he tries. Still, he squeezes too hard when his hands land on Corin’s arms, and Corin brushes his hair before he lets Din touch it because he doesn’t know how to work the tangles out without pain. His affection comes out in other ways. He makes sure Corin knows how to fight, shows him all the techniques he’s learned during his years as a bounty hunter until they stand on even ground, winning and losing in equal amounts. On any night that Corin looks especially tired, it can be expected that Din and the child will quietly disappear in the morning so he can sleep in. Endearments do not come naturally to him, but he says  _ don’t forget your armor, _ and  _ comm me when you get there, _ and  _ here, I tuned up your blaster, _ and he hopes Corin knows it means the same thing, but he’s never sure.

It weighs heavy on his mind, and on the first anniversary of their bonding, it finally pushes its way out of his chest. 

“You know that I love you, right?” he asks quietly, when they’re laying in bed, curled up with their legs tangled and foreheads pressed together, Din’s hand settled gently behind Corin’s neck. 

“Of course I do.”

Din tries to let the reassurance quiet his mind, but it doesn’t settle easily. Corin picks up on the unease, like he always does. He brings a hand up and rubs his thumb across Din’s jaw and says, “Tell me what’s going on in that beautiful head of yours.” 

“I don’t… say it, or show it so much, like you do,” Din says, tightening his grip. “Sometimes I wonder if that’s unfair to you. If you ever forget.”

Corin gives him a patient smile and slides his gentle fingers down from Din’s jaw to settle against his nape, holding him close. 

“Before we were bonded,” he says, “when I knocked you into a mud puddle on a rainy planet because I wasn’t watching where I was going, did you love me then?”

“I did,” Din says, curling closer. 

“And last month, when I ran out in front of a group of spice dealers to draw their fire so you and Paz could sneak up behind them, and you wouldn’t speak to me for two days, did you still love me then?”

“I did. Of course I did. That’s why I was so mad.”

Corin hums and squeezes his neck, still smiling. “And do you love me now?”

“I do,” Din whispers. “So much it makes me feel like I can’t breathe.”

Corin kisses him, and Din relaxes into it, pressing against him as if they could somehow be even closer than they are. When he pulls away, Corin says, “I know. And I knew then too. I know you, and I see you. You don't have to say it." 

Din wraps both arms around him and holds him tight, and though his mouth doesn't say the words, his heart whispers,  _ I love you, I love you, I love you _ . 

And in Corin's heartbeat, pressed against his ear, he hears,  _ I know, I know, I know. _


End file.
